KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 — The ringgit opened flat today against the US dollar as the greenback continued to gain traction ahead of a widely expected US and European Central Bank (ECB) interest rates cut.
At 9.05pm, the ringgit stood at 4.1180/1210 from Tuesday’s 4.1180/1190.
A dealer said the dollar was stronger against a basket of major currencies as investors awaited clearer signals on the Federal Reserve’s direction for interest rates.
“They are also looking forward to the ECB’s widely expected easing to be announced today, which is set to also pave the way for a US interest rates cut,” he added.
He said currency markets were also affected by the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) global growth cut for this year to 3.2 per cent compared to 3.3 per cent set in April, stressing an urgent needs to reduce trade and technology tensions.
IMF also slashed the target in the global volume of trade of good and services to 2.5 per cent in 2019.
Overall, the ringgit traded mixed against a basket of major currencies.
It was up against the Singapore dollar to 3.0146/0179 from 3.0177/0189 yesterday and advanced vis-a-vis the euro to 4.5903/5953 from 4.6023/6042.
It, however, declined against the yen to 3.8073/8104 from 3.8056/8079 and versus the British pound to 5.1224/1273 from 5.1220/1244. — Bernama
